Nine-try HKFC crush Tigers to set up do-or-die final fling with HKCC

Natixis Hong Kong Football Club exploded for nine tries in a 57-7 romp over Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers on Saturday, putting them just one win away from securing a pass straight through to the Grand Championship semi-finals.

HKFC’s emphatic bonus-point victory at Sports Road leaves them just four points out of second place in the HKRU Premiership standings behind Leighton Asia HKCC who failed to earn a bonus point in their 20-19 win over Sabre Kowloon on Saturday.

Next weekend’s 15th and final round of regular league action will see the two clubs face off at Sports Road where they will battle it out for runners-up spot in the ladder to earn a bye in the play-off quarter-finals – and an extra week of rest.

The other team to receive a bye through to the semis are 2015-16 league champions Societe Generale Valley, who on Saturday hammered Bloomberg HK Scottish 41-10.

Despite the hosts’ convincing victory at Sports Road, it was USRC Tigers who dominated play in the first quarter, keeping HKFC penned in their own half and quickly snuffing out any potential scoring chances.

“We were slow out of the blocks with a lot of mistakes and unforced errors but after 20 minutes we got into our game. We found our rhythm and away we went,” said HKFC coach Phil Bailey.

“We’ve played really hard all year and we’ve ground out a lot of wins, but finally it clicked and we were able to put it all together out there.”

HKFC’s first real scoring chance came off a passage of play in which they demonstrated solid patient rugby, methodically working the ball up the pitch.